Students in Soc Rel 1400 to Survey Upperclass Career Attitudes and Plans

Students in a Social Relations and Psychology course will conduct a door-to-door survey of career plans of Harvard and Radcliffe upperclassmen after Thanksgiving.

The study, to be conducted by students in Soc Rel 1400, will probe attitudes about career and graduate school plans and seek data on what factors affect their choices.

"Lots of people believe there has been a radical shift in this area between present classes at Harvard and those just a few years ago," Thomas F. Pettigrew, professor of Social Psychology and instructor in the course, said yesterday.

Pettigrew declined to describe the questionnaire fully because, he said, to do so might prejudice results.

Random Sample

The random sample poll will survey one-ninth of Harvard and Radcliffe sophomores, juniors, and seniors selected in advance for participation, Pettigrew said.

He said pollsters will begin work on the survey shortly after Thanksgiving and preliminary data will be released before Christmas. The results will be available to "anyone doing serious research on the topic."